Feminism for everybody

Feminism has been a hot topic the past year or so, a topic that has been heavily debated among men and women. The most recent person who has weighed in on the topic is Harry Potter star, Emma Watson.

She gave a speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York about gender equality. She told attendees that there is a need for more feminists in our society and asked men to join the movement. During her speech she said that becoming a feminist wasn't a complicated decision, but she find its shocking that our society associates feminism with words like, "aggressive, anti-men, unattractive and too strong."

When I came to college, I learned what feminism meant. I admit that I was guilty of believing the stereotypes people put on the word. When I was introduced to what the word actually meant, I was hooked on it. I wanted to learn what it meant to be a feminist and defend to those who have a false idea of the meaning.

Now, I like to think I am strong woman because of feminism. I love when I see people in the media who are giving feminism a good name. It dissapoints me when I hear people around campus speaking ill of the movement, because they have their perception of it is so distorted.

Feminism = equality, NOT "anti-men"

Hacker release more nude photos

A few weeks ago, a number of women celebrities had their personal iPhone accounts hacked. Women like Jennifer Lawrence had nude photos released to the public without their consent. Now weeks later, another hacking has occured. Celebs like Kim Kardashian, Hayden Panettiere and Rihanna are just a few of the most recent women who were exposed.

Many people speculated that iPhone's iCloud was to blame for the hacking. It was said that the hacker was able to hack into their iCloud accounts and steal the women's photos, even ones that were deleted. iCloud is mass storage system where all of your iPhone information is backed up and stored into.

It's freaks me out that all of the photos/videos I have taken are stored into this virtual world of technology. If it was that easy to steal high-profile people's information and photos, then how easy would it be to steal the average Joe's?

It definitely makes you think twice about what you're using your technology for.

ISIS continues the violence

As I'm sure most of you have heard, the ISIS organization is releasing videos of them beheading American journalists. So far, they have released two violent videos of them beheading the men. At the end of each video the masked ISIS member shows another prisoner and promises to behead him as well.

ISIS has released another video this afternoon. This time the victim is believed to be British hostage who was for the French non-governmental organization ACTED, when he was taken and David Cawthrone Haines, who was showed in the beheading video of journalist Steven Scotloff. This video is targeted toward the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

The executor says this video is message to all allies of America.

President Obama released this statement at 8:30 p.m. tonight:
The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Haines by the terrorist group ISIL. Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom. The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world.

As an aspiring journalist, these videos really get to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets chills every time I see an article on any of the news sites I frequently visit. It's terrifying that this happening to people dedicated to helping and telling the story. It doesn't scare me away from becoming the journalist I hope to be, but it does make me more cautious when thinking about the kind of reporting I would like to do and where I would like to do it.

My thoughts are with the victims and the families of this barbaric act of violence.

Apple takeover

When it comes to technology, I am definitely team Apple. I've owned two Macbook Pros and two iPhone's in my lifetime as a college student –– I would never switch to Android. I just love how their products are sleek, virus-free and work at a fast speed. But although I have extreme brand loyalty to Apple, I can't stand the hype when they release their newest item. The most recent product set free into the world, iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, have blown off the shelves after only being released for less than week.
People are calling the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, a "phablet" (half phone, half tablet). This phone is already back-ordered. if you try and purchase the phone on Apple's website it says the phone will not be shipped for "3-4 weeks". Apple lovers went nuts over Apple's new products –– as usual. In the craze of demanding the phone, they actually crashed Apple's website on Thursday night. During all this maniac behavior over rushing to buy the new phone, at a ridiculous price I might add, no one even realized that Apple quietly discontinued the iPod Classic, which has been around for 12 years. With the death of the iPod Classic, you can no longer buy an Apple product that will hold the massive about of 160 GB (40,000 songs) worth of music.

Basically, I love you Apple, but you terrify me with your ability to make the world bow down.